Chalmers Produces 20.68 Aussie, Oceanic SCM 50 Free Record

2021 FINA WORLD CUP STOP #4 – KAZAN

  • Thursday, October 28 – Saturday, October 30th
  • Kazan Aquatics Palace, Kazan, Russia
  • Prelims: 10 am local / 3 am ET
  • Finals: 6 pm local / 11 am ET
  • SCM (25m)
  • Results

Multi-Olympic medalist Kyle Chalmers keeps raising the bar in the men’s 50m and 100m freestyle events across this FINA World Cup circuit. The Aussie has been consistently landing atop the podium, with today’s 50m free performance adding a little extra in the form of a new national record and Oceanic record for the ace.

Chalmers hit the wall tonight in a monster effort of 20.68, sealing the deal for gold ahead of reigning World Cup Record holder Vlad Morozov of Russia. Morozov got to the wall just .13 later in 20.81, while Dutchman and 2016 FINA Short Course World champion Jesse Puts rounded out the top 3 tonight in a time of 21.08.

Entering this meet, Chalmers’ previous personal best in this short course meters 50 free rested at the 20.74 he produced as a member of the International Swimming League (ISL) team of London Roar. That result was posted at the final in Las Vegas during season 1 in 2019.

Flash forward to tonight and the South Australian dynamo dropped another .06 to get his 20.68 mark, with another round of ISL playoffs on the horizon for next month in Eindhoven, the Netherlands. Chalmers now ranks as the 10th fastest man ever in this SCM 50 free, tying Hungary’s Maxim Lobanovskij.

Already on this World Cup circuit, he’s been in the range of 21.01 in Berlin, 20.97 in Budapest and 21.02 in Doha last week, with that last performance marking his only loss across the 4 stops now that the race in Kazan is complete.

In This Story

54
Leave a Reply

Subscribe
Notify of

54 Comments
newest
oldest most voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Luigi
3 years ago

Dude is developing some serious sprinter speed and turns. As if he wasn’t already scary with his back-end speed.

Sub13
3 years ago

Can someone explain to me why Kyle didn’t swim the 50 free at Tokyo trials? He obviously knows how to swim one, and it seems like he would have had a better shot at a medal in the 50 than the 200?

So excited that Kyle is doing so well. Unfortunate that he seems to be peaking a few months after the Olympics, but I’m hoping this isn’t a peak, but a new foundation setting stage for the next few years.

Tyson
Reply to  Sub13
3 years ago

I think the reason is he knows Australia is a strong medal contention in the 4×200 free relay so he puts up a time so he can be selected for that. Where as the 50 free he hasn’t even broken 22 in long course so he probably doesn’t see a point to swimming it cause he may not even make the final to have a shot at a medal. I think next year though he may start to put more focus on it and we may see him drop some time in the 50 LC

HJones
Reply to  Tyson
3 years ago

His best 50 LCM time is 22.07 from the 2019 AUS Trials, where he was then a 47.39 in the 100. Considering the strides his start and underwaters have made in the past 2 years, I’d guess he could at least go a 21.8.

commonwombat
Reply to  Tyson
3 years ago

These SCM performers may prompt he and his coach to investigate the 50LCM more seriously but my thought is that the up and back …. and firing off the turn may actually be better suited to his attributes than the “point to point” of the one lap LCM 50.

torchbearer
Reply to  Sub13
3 years ago

Good question, it seems weird he swam just ONE individual event at the Olympics….

Troyy
Reply to  torchbearer
3 years ago

It’s like people are fogetting that injury derailed his preparation. He’d probably have swum 100 fly otherwise.

Tony
Reply to  Troyy
3 years ago

Chalmers has never done anything fantastic at 50m; he’d need a firecracker in his backside for that. One trick pony, the 100m free. The 100m fly would be woefully inadequate..

Robbos
Reply to  Tony
3 years ago

Someone who knows little of the beast that is Kyle Chalmers or his operations..

Sub13
Reply to  Tony
3 years ago

Why do you say such rude stuff about the swimmers all the time? It’s really unnecessary and doesn’t contribute anything to the conversation.

I’d love to be a one trick pony if it meant I was half as talented and successful as Kyle.

commonwombat
Reply to  Tony
3 years ago

I’ll agree that he’s never done anything fantastic over 1 laps LCM but the one trick pony jibe is both cheap and inaccurate. Multiple 1.45s at 200 LCM and World/Olympics medals in 4×200 do suggest he is at least genuine international standard at that distance.

Troyy
Reply to  Tony
3 years ago

Tony the one trick pony.

HJones
3 years ago

Another thing to note: Chalmers isn’t wearing Adidas tech suits anymore, presumably because his contract is up. Wearing most Arena suits now. Considering how much difference a good modern jammer can make (and the AdiZero suits have never been that), I’m pretty sure once we see him in LC for the first time in a REAL tech suit he’s going to break the 100 FR WR. If only we could convince him to wear a Mizuno or a TYR…

Mr Piano
Reply to  HJones
3 years ago

Comes back in a 23 with a mizuno

Landen
Reply to  Mr Piano
3 years ago

Ok sonny trigg

FlynDie
3 years ago

Chalmers finally hitting his peak at age 23 with a nice stretch of good health. This is getting exciting

Grant Drukker
Reply to  FlynDie
3 years ago

He’s seriously only 23?

HJones
Reply to  Grant Drukker
3 years ago

He looks at least 5 years older than CD, who is 25.

Gheko
Reply to  HJones
3 years ago

Beards tend to do that

Ol' Longhorn
Reply to  HJones
3 years ago

It’s Dressel’s toothpick legs.

Big mac #1
Reply to  Grant Drukker
3 years ago

He was 18 in rio

Troyy
Reply to  Big mac #1
3 years ago

Only barely too so only turned 23 in June.

PFA
3 years ago

Yeah…levaux’s world record is under threat Kyle going a PB in the 50 free as well a as just barely missing the commonwealth record by .02 might mean he has something in store for us tomorrow.

Samboys
Reply to  PFA
3 years ago

Not quite, the Commonwealth record is 20.30 by Schoeman.

PFA
Reply to  Samboys
3 years ago

Yeah your right missed that but still exciting tomorrow.

swimswamsers
Reply to  PFA
3 years ago

nah

Yoo
Reply to  swimswamsers
3 years ago

44.84 WR for King Kyle – SUCK IT

Mr Piano
3 years ago

Scary

CoachMelvin1966
3 years ago

Go Australia! 🇳🇿

torchbearer
Reply to  CoachMelvin1966
3 years ago

We are having a great year! 🙂

Corn Pop
Reply to  torchbearer
3 years ago

It helped that swimmers in Florida & Qld were via vastly different measures able to train thru 2020. In Qld they were allowed in the open waters March – June whereas I believe Caleb & Kieran never stopped.

Between those 2 states they garnered 12 indiv golds & pretty much the W medley & ,400 free relay so that’s 14 .

Europe & Asia will be back in 2021-2.

Sub13
Reply to  Corn Pop
3 years ago

I think it’s pretty disingenuous to suggest that’s why Australia did so well. Almost every gold medal was an Olympic record and close to a world record.

If the Olympics had overall been slow then I could accept that, but it’s just not true.

Corn Pop
Reply to  Sub13
3 years ago

But it is a fact . QLD 9 GOLDS Florida 5 . And yes the m400 800 1500 & 400Im were slow . Ditto the w 800 q500 & 400 im .

Sub13
Reply to  Corn Pop
3 years ago

Not a single slow event you’ve mentioned was won by an Australian. If anything you’re only making the argument that USA was helped by the pandemic. The only Australian gold that wasn’t an Olympic record was the 200 back. 8/9 golds were Olympic records. The pandemic doesn’t explain that super high level.

Criticise Florida for winning slow races if you want, but that doesn’t apply to Australia clearly.

Ragnar
3 years ago

Meanwhile, Caeleb is getting a full leg sleeve in order to even out his full arm sleeve, which will thermo and aerodynamically increase his streamline next summer when the annual Caeleb vs Kyle fight continued. So glad Kyle will finally be at his best for a summer meet, don’t care who wins as long as they break 47 together.

Scotty P
Reply to  Ragnar
3 years ago

Sick.

Mr Piano
Reply to  Ragnar
3 years ago

Next year they tie at 46.69

Dressel 22.05 24.64

Chalmers 22.56. 24.13

Please God, make it happen

Last edited 3 years ago by Mr Piano
Reply to  Mr Piano
3 years ago

Nah…they will tie in 46.66 because both are beasts!

Tony
Reply to  Ragnar
3 years ago

Kyle would need a firecracker in his backside to top Caeleb in 50m.

Ol' Longhorn
Reply to  Tony
3 years ago

And yet we’re talking about the 100. Keep up with the plot.

About Retta Race

Former Masters swimmer and coach Loretta (Retta) thrives on a non-stop but productive schedule. Nowadays, that includes having earned her MBA while working full-time in IT while owning French 75 Boutique while also providing swimming insight for BBC.

Read More »